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Occidental Alters Internal Control Policies

Occidental Petroleum Corp. said an internal review of financial dealings with foreign government and business officials prompted it to overhaul policies in an effort to "strengthen internal controls." Westwood-based Oxy was responding to a Wall Street Journal report Monday that the company might have overpaid foreign middlemen and engaged in "questionable overseas transactions." Oxy declined to confirm or deny any details in the report, which said that one Lebanese businessman, Hany M. Salaam, received $100 million between 1991 and 1996. The newspaper also said there were consulting payments and finder's fees that couldn't be linked to identifiable services. Oxy has since "curtailed" dealings with Salaam, the newspaper said. An Oxy statement said that "the principal issues" raised in the article were reviewed by the board during the last year and that the board, as a result, "recommended that additional policies and procedures be adopted in order to strengthen internal controls."